U.S. Senator John Kennedy votes no on one budget, takes critical look at another

Senator Kennedy believes government is too big, wants to cut spending

By: Fred Childers

Posted: Feb 13, 2018 05:12 PM CST

Updated: Feb 14, 2018 03:42 PM CST

BATON ROUGE, La (LOCAL 33) (FOX 44) - U.S. Senator John Kennedy from Louisiana is cementing his reputation as a staunch fiscal conservative in Washington with his no-nonsense approach to government spending.

He's voted no on one budget, and appears to be ready to insist on steep cuts for the President's proposed budget for next year.

Kennedy is a member of the Senate Committee on Budget and believes the federal government has gotten too big.

"Once I added up the numbers all I saw was red, this bill is going to substantially add to our deficit," Kennedy said about the recent budget bill signed by the President last Friday.

The 400 billion dollar budget ended the hours- long government shutdown, but it was the target of much criticism from both sides of the isle.

And while Kennedy liked the increased spending for the military and provisions for states like Louisiana, he still gave it a decisive thumbs down.

"Just like you can't tax your way to prosperity you can't spend your way into prosperity, and you can't borrow your way into prosperity, and I'm not going to support it, that's why I voted no," said Kennedy.

Soon lawmakers will be voting on another spending bill: The President's proposed budget for 2019. The 4.5 trillion dollar spending plan was presented to the Senate Committee on Budget Tuesday.

"I had a conversation with White House Budget Director Mulvaney, talking primarily about how we can reduce spending and reduce borrowing," said Kennedy.

And since the 2019 budget proposal contains billions of dollars less for domestic programs compared to the most recent bill, it's expected to become a target by senate Democrats.

The President's proposal will likely be used as a guide by the Senate while crafting a budget bill of it's own. That bill will be voted on in about a month.

The 2019 proposal is also being presented to the Republican controlled House where it's expected to also meet some resistance.

Senator Kennedy says lawmakers and the President must have an honest discussion about saving money on Medicare and Medicaid without hurting anyone. That will likely be a very difficult task.